Today we deviate from the normal course of breaking down numbers and analyzing players into the theatre of the absurd. So, what follows is a bit of a commentary. Yesterday, a major news story broke concerned embattled running back Joe Mixon and the Texans were likely to part ways. The cut would save the Texans 8.5 million and that is particularly true if they are able to designate him as a failed physical cut.
Of course, none of this is news particularly. Things have been heading this direction for
months. In effect, this story exists on two levels. The surface level is what it did to the team this year to go without a bell cow back for the entire season. It raises questions about competence because you have to ask the question: what did the Texans know and when did they know it? This is particularly true when Nick Caserio announced that he thinks Mixon had offseason surgery. Thinks? You can’t be that daft can you?
Of course, that spills us into the second question. What is the appropriate way to get out that message. I might add that this is a common thread in Houston sports. Whether its Rafael Stone telling us that he just doesn’t think this is the Rockets season or Dana Brown or Joe Espada obscuring the facts on another injured Astro, disclosure seems to be a common theme in Houston sports. I would simply point out that none of the professional organizations (except maybe the Dynamo) have figured out the whole messaging side of this thing.
Let’s start with the ridiculousness of this whole situation and break down what we know. We know Joe Mixon has an injury. We aren’t quite sure what the injury is and it has been almost a calendar year. We think it’s a foot injury but we aren’t quite certain. He injured himself while working out. Or he didn’t. The injury is football related. Or it isn’t. They thought he would come back at some point this last season. Or they didn’t.
So, the question at hand is the question of disclosure. When does it make sense to be honest and when does it make sense to lie? Moreover, what is the best way to tell a lie? Yesterday, Nick Caserio said that he thought the offensive line did a great job last season and it was the best one of his tenure. Either that statement is a lie or Caserio is a drunken moron. I don’t think he drinks much.
Maybe there is some class or school sports executives go to in order to learn how to do these things. Those of us that have been following sports for decades know how these things are supposed to be said. You throw out a bunch of generalities that basically amount to nothing. “We feel like our offensive line improved last season, but we are always looking for ways to improve and upgrade our team. We will evaluate the unit as a whole as well as each individual player as we approach free agency and the draft.” It’s not incredibly difficult. That statement took me 30 seconds.
The ultimate question is whether you are better off telling the truth or obscuring the truth. I will just say that I believe they know what is going on with Joe Mixon. I believe they knew the extent of his injury and knew the prognosis going forward. To believe otherwise is to believe abject incompetence and I don’t think you win 35 games (counting the playoffs) in three seasons because you are incompetent. Instead, you either wanted to protect the player or protect yourself.
Let’s start with the player. Without facts on Joe Mixon we are left with speculation. We can start with the absurd. Does he even have a foot? We have no proof of that. We have seen no pictures and he certainly is not sharing. Maybe they are petitioning the league to see if he can play with an artificial foot. That’s obviously ridiculous but without facts you are left with the ridiculous as a possibility. Without facts we don’t know if he will ever play football again, how the injury happened, or what he has tried to do to recover. He may have had surgery? What kind of bush league operation is this?
From the team perspective, I definitely get why we are obscuring the truth. You think there is a competitive advantage that comes from teams not knowing the status of Joe Mixon. Well, at a certain point that becomes ludicrous. If a guy hasn’t played, practiced, or seen at the team facility by October or November we know what the story likely is. Obscuring it really doesn’t serve your interests either. This is particularly true as the trade deadline came and went.
The Texans botched this story from the get go. It doesn’t serve Joe Mixon and it certainly didn’t serve them either. I don’t expect 100 percent full disclosure in every situation. Heck, I don’t know if I expect it in any situation. However, in this case giving us zero disclosure failed the player and it failed the organization and made everyone look dumber in the process. That can’t be good for business.
